Book Review: "Fight for Your Long Day" by Alex Kudera

Title: Fight for Your Long Day

Author: Alex Kudera

Publisher: Atticus Books

ISBN, PUB Date: 978-0984510504, Ocotober 1, 2010

Reviewed by: Shawn Edwards for Author Exposure

For those who passed through college with the impression that professors are respected, illustrious members of the community, Alex Kudera has a story that will set you straight. Fight for Your Long Day is that novel. It takes a contemplative and comical journey through one day in the life of Cyrus Duffleman, an adjunct professor grinding through a circuit of colleges in Philadelphia. “The Duffler”, as Cyrus refers to himself, embodies a new 21st century Everyman as an overeducated and underpaid member of academia, struggling to be a part of the world rather than just watch it go by.

Kudera has an entertaining style which switches from verbosely literate to vulgar and back again. The author has created a compelling character in Cyrus Duffleman. The Duffler is a bumbling, entertaining anti-hero; he keeps readers chuckling through wit and a Mr. Bean-like ability to insert himself into uncomfortable situations. Cyrus Duffleman's life is a tragedy of inaction, of goals never achieved and opportunities never pursued. Much of the novel takes place inside his head as Duffleman bares his stereotypes then punishes himself for his theoretical prejudice. For his minimal pay, the Duffler is presented with a horde of superiors who criticize him and a diverse group of students who alienate him. An in-class discussion devolves into a demonstration of bigotry and insanity, but Duffleman's attempt to help the troubled debaters is greeted by threats of lawsuits from his students and a psychological evaluation from his supervisors. He is ineffectual and uncertain, an anti-hero trapped in a lifelong comedic train wreck who readers can't help but root for.

The strengths of Fight for Your Long Day are the source of its weaknesses. The unique narrative in which Duffleman ponders his world can drag on and on. Minutes in the story stretch out to pages. While the author is daring and entertaining, the dialogue of Fight for Your Long Day does little to add to the appeal of the novel. Introspection appears much more than conversations, and when two characters speak to one another, they sometimes seem to be talking at one another instead of responding. Sadly, the ending feels contrived rather than a result of the story, as there is a rather noticeable hole in the logic (spoiler not included).

Overall, Fight for Your Long Day is an enjoyable book despite its faults. The examinations of how society perceives us and how we perceive it are thought-provoking, and Kudera has a genuinely funny, if not self-depreciating, sense of humor. Readers who enjoy an introspective, humoristic, if at times wordy, style will enjoy Fight for Your Long Day. I look forward to reading Kudera’s next novel.